FROM BUILDING WEAPONS TO SAVING LIVES-AS TOLD BY ISIDOROS ISMAILIDIS

    I was on my knees as tears rolled down my cheeks.  "Oh, God, my conscience tells me that I cannot continue to work in weapons production,"  I said in prayer.  "I have tried hard to find another job, but I have not been able to. Tomorrow, I will turn in my resignation. Please, Jehovah, do not let our four children starve for bread." How did I reach this point?


LIFE was peaceful and simple in Drama, northern Greece, where I was born in 1932.  My father used to talk to me about what he wanted me to do. He encouraged me to go to the United States to receive and education. After Greece was pillaged during World War II, a prevalent motto among Greeks was:  "You can steal our possessions,  but you can never steal what is in our minds."  I was determined  to pursue a higher education and acquire something that nobody would ever be able to steal. 

From a young age, I had joined various youth groups sponsored by the Greek  Orthodox Church.  There we were told to avoid dangerous sects. I specifically remember one group-Jehovah's Witnesses-being mentioned, since they supposedly represented the antichrist.

After graduating from a technical school in Athens in 1953, I traveled to Germany to see if I could find a job and go to school at the same time.  But that did not work out, so I traveled to other countries. After a few weeks, I found myself without any money or a port in Belgium.  I remember walking into church, sitting down, and crying so hard that there were tears on the floor in front of me. I prayed that if God helped me to the United States, I would not pursue material things but I would get an education and strive to be a good Christian and a good citizen.  Finally in 1957, I arrived there. 

Next time: New Life in the United States

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000